A Mother's Guide to Raising Fine Pre-teens-5

Is your kid overweight because he loves indulging in fatty, oily, and yummy food? Does his/her obesity concern you? Challenge #5 talks about dealing with kids who crave yummy food and are no-no to nutritious food. Find relief in meditation, nutritious food that is yummy, and a couple of tips.

Challenge #5: Dealing With Your Kid’s Obesity

Tip #1:

Do not rebuke kids for their obesity. It leads nowhere. Instead, he might eat more junk food in defiance, and that will only add to his bad health. Also make sure your kid is happy. Weight gain is a direct result of high stress levels and the associated low metabolic rate.

Children tend to eat what they find very tasty. At their age, they do not understand the importance of a nutritious diet, which is often not so tasty. We suggest you make dishes that are nutritious and yummy at the same time. And it is not difficult. You might want to have a look at some of our vegetarian recipes, which give children the right kind of nutrition, with taste that they would love. You can play around with the dish—add another pinch of his favorite condiment or maybe add a ground carrot while preparing his tomato soup.

You may approach children with love and confidence while talking to them about the ill-effects of junk food. The resolve to bring a change in your kid’s health comes with meditation.

How Meditation Helps?

TIP#2:

If you are changing your kid’s diet plan, it is good to have him around in the planning phase so that he knows the importance of every vegetable and fruit added to the list. During the process, let him make a choice between two dishes and invite him to make contributions to the list.

With regular practice of meditation, you’ll feel positive about changing the current situation, leave the denial mode and face facts, and learn to gently turn any situation in your favor. Whether it is your kid’s obesity or any other problem, you need to face it, understand it, and then handle it. This ability comes with meditation.

When you are preparing food, make sure you are not stressed out. Why so? If your energy is low, that is what will be absorbed by the food and that is what is going to be absorbed by your kid. So, if you are happy while cooking, there are good chances that your kid will also be happy after consuming that meal. A happy kid’s metabolic rate is higher than that of a sad kid. A high metabolism will ensure what he eats is digested properly. Sit with your child and ask him to have his food slowly. Often, in a rush to watch television or play with friends, kids end up eating food too quickly, which affects health adversely.

It’s a good idea to meditate before you cook. Firstly, meditation will replenish your energy levels. So even if you cook at night, you’ll be cooking with the same gusto as you cook breakfast. Next, you are sending positive vibrations around. To add to these, you come out of meditation with a clear mind, so you can come up with more dishes that have both taste and nutrition. What more can you ask for?

To Moms, With Love…

Bringing to you celebrated moments of motherhood that a mom would love to share…

Roselyn was worried. Her son Albert was visibly obese. He would overeat and puke. But none could make him understand. Roselyn’s concerns were aired to the medical expert by the class teacher. A regular medical check-up at school conclusively proved what was obvious—obesity was Albert's problem. Dr. Mathews asked him some interesting questions one after another. It was like a rapid-fire round at a quiz.

Dr. Mathews: Are you obese? Do you pant when you climb stairs? Do you find it difficult to run around like other kids? Do you think of food all the time? Pizza, noodles, pasta, cola, eggs, ham, and cheese toast. Are you motivated by advertisements to eat even after a meal?

Albert just sat with lines creasing his flushed brow.

Dr. Mathews: My dear boy, these and many more yummy dishes taste wow but have ill effects when taken in abundance. Then we have desserts like cakes, pastries, cookies, and pies. They too taste yum but do more harm than good. We call this junk. These foodstuffs add extra fat and carbohydrates to our diet. Our body is happy and healthy with more of healthy and less of junk food.

Albert: Yes! My mummy tells me this, but I am hungry all the time. I think my tummy is big.

Dr. Mathews: Oh! No! No! You can’t get away with that. It’s all in the mind. You can’t ill-treat your system like that.

Albert: Oh! But it is like that! I promise myself I won't eat junk, but then I can’t keep away!

Dr. Mathews: Okay, tell me, have you seen a garbage bin?

Albert: Yes! Of course!

Dr. Mathews: What does it contain?

Albert: Waste! Waste! And more waste!

Dr. Mathews: Exactly! My dear boy, you are so right. That is what I’m trying to say—you are treating your tummy like a garbage bin. It has waste! Waste! And more waste! Healthy food that is full of nutrition, like fruits, salads, soups, and milk, along with some junk works well with our body. But only junk food harms us in more ways than one. Let’s find out how. (At this, Dr. Mathews touches Albert’s stomach). "This is Albert’s stomach? With so much waste filled inside, all it needs is a garbage bag to hold it. The moment it is digested, it will get absorbed in the body and harm you. It will make you fat. Later, you will experience leg pain because those legs have to carry such a heavy body around. You will start becoming more lethargic day by day. This will add on to your body weight. A big body needs more food, and this means some more kilos. It is a never-ending cycle. I had a word with your mother. She knows all the right ways and means to help you choose your food right. You just need to say ‘Yes’ and cooperate. A fat body is always attacked first by diseases."

An expert’s advice was what Albert needed the most. It was firm and lacked emotion. Albert felt threatened by obesity for the first time. He planned it all with his mother. He decided to say ‘No’ to junk food. The rest of the plan was promising too, as his mother promised to cook delicious yet nutritious meals. And, once a week, she promised to treat him with home-cooked junk food. Albert felt happy. Albert followed this diet for two months. Oh! Sprouts rolls with cottage cheese and veggies tasted so good! Cycling with dad and swimming on weekends with mom were fun-filled activities. Albert looked fresh, active, and healthy. These days, every time he looks at junk he is reminded of a garbage bin. Roselyn is the happiest of all—Albert takes small portions of food, eats frequently, and has lots of salads daily. Over the weekend, she serves him some healthy pasta, a small pizza, and soup. Wow! It’s a good and well-earned break. It's nice to chew food properly, look great, and feel wow! Albert took slow but sure steps. Today, he is healthy and looks great.

Take to a Sahaj Samadhi Course and be the mom you’ve always aspired to be.

In their pre-teens, kids start discovering their fields of interest. Some take to music, others to dance, science, painting, writing, and so on. But as parents, do you have this hitch – “My kid cannot pursue his interest as his career. It won’t fetch him enough to sustain”. We understand your concern. But don’t let that concern become a concept. Read the solution to this challenge in the last article of this series.

Do you have an experience of adventure, wit, and inspiration to share? We'd love to hear your side of the story and share it with our readers.

Do you have an experience of adventure, wit, and inspiration to share? We'd love to hear your side of the story and share it with our readers. Write to us at webteam.meditation@artofliving.org.

Author: Ravisha Kathuria

Ravisha Kathuria, a passionate writer, has just begun dabbling in the world of words. Through her articles, she conveys the beauty of the ancient knowledge of meditation in its simplest form that are easy takeaways for the readers.

The author has written this article based on meditation inputs by Bharathy Harish, Sahaj Samadhi Meditation Teacher